


ten shades of blue

by shirozora



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: 7rainbowprompts, I'm in Dragon Age hell, M/M, you may brick me over the title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3409754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirozora/pseuds/shirozora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One color, ten prompts, one thousand words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ten shades of blue

**Author's Note:**

> LJ used to be really great for and is still great for things like [7rainbowprompts](http://7rainbowprompts.livejournal.com/profile). 
> 
> Needed a break from drawing but had writer's block, so took up prompts + ficlets instead. Picking words with care to meet the 100-word limit is exciting and headwalling.

Whispers in the Night

With Blackwall snoring softly in the middle of the tent, they resort to low voices and a wisp for light. It floats lazily between them, glowing softly green; whenever Maxwell raises his hand to it, it slides along his index finger and down around his wrist before floating back to the middle.

"... tempted to vandalize every text on Tevinter," Dorian is saying. "Burying facts under centuries of falsehoods is an offense I cannot ignore."

"Why don't you, then?"

"For one, a complete waste of ink. Another, I'm always traipsing after you."

Maxwell smiles. "I'm glad for that."

"Me, too."

  
Sake of Love   


Dorian doesn't realize it until after, when they stop by the river to clean themselves off and catch their breath. He watches Maxwell slowly pull his gauntlets off and crouch down at the riverside with a grimace to splash water on his face.

"He took that blow to protect you, Sparkler," Varric says while calibrating Bianca. 

Dorian's fingers twitch, wanting to wipe away the blood and bruises on Maxwell's face. "I was casting a barrier. What he did was unnecessary. Dangerous."

"He didn't think so."

Dorian looks at Maxwell again to see the Inquisitor looking back. "Of course he didn't."

  
Once in a Blue Moon   


Once, there was Rilienus, but he didn't dare. He knew Rilienus would never say, "Yes," just like every dalliance of his never said, "Yes."

Then he was on his own and Rilienus, like his father and Tevinter, became a distant dream.

Whispers of his old mentor and time magic drew him south to Ferelden. Under a broken sky, he slipped into Redcliffe and found Felix. "Andraste's Herald is coming, Dorian," Felix said. "He can help us stop my father."

In the chapel, a rift opened and the Herald arrived to close it.

Once, there was Rilienus. Now, there is Maxwell.

  
Overcompensation   


"A greatsword seems excessive for the son of a noble house, no? All brute strength and no finesse."

Maxwell wipes sweat off his brow and leans on his sword, looking at the Tevinter mage. "Your point?"

"Oh, I'm not making any. I just find it an intriguing choice."

He rolls his shoulders and lifts his sword for another round with the poor dummy. The mage chokes on something and Maxwell looks over his shoulder, concerned.

"...I take back what I said," the mage says, his face darker than a second ago. "Not at all about a perceived lack."

Maxwell laughs.

  
Starry Nights   


"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Maxwell shifts over on the blanket to make room for Dorian but doesn't look away from the sky. The Hissing Wastes is dry and lonesome and full of Venatori, but the sky is endless here, the moon enormous and the stars countless. It's nothing like the night sky back home.

"Ostwick's close enough to the sea that all you ever see is fog. Sometimes you can see the stars, but this is... this is wonderful."

"Certainly makes this dreary shit hole more tolerable," Dorian remarks.

"You have such a way with words," Maxwell says and kisses him.

Blueberries

After meticulously decimating the small basket of ripe blueberries while reviewing Leliana's missives, Maxwell asks one of the guards who left the gift at his door.

"I have not a clue, Your Worship," she says with a remarkably straight face.

He goes looking for Cole at the tavern.

"Cole-"

"I would've, if you wanted. But it wasn't me. Flowers and favor, she sells what he knows you'll like. Tart and sweet and blue, they don't grow in Ostwick."

"Huh," Maxwell says.

He passes by Dorian's alcove on the way up to the rookery. The altus reads, oblivious, fingers stained blue.

Pirates

"Trust me. She'll know where they ship the red stuff."

They trudge through light rain and the thunder of waves on the coast, following Varric's lead.

"I suspect that she's exactly who I think she is," Cassandra mutters, confirming Maxwell's own thoughts on Varric's contact.

"I just want away from this blasted sea," Dorian grumbles at Maxwell's side. "Endless mockery for getting sick every time their boat hits a bump."

"My great-aunt says Tevinter ginger helps with that."

"Hmm, I'll have to try that next time. If there is a next time."

Ahead, Varric runs to greet the pirate Isabela.

Wisdom

"I hope I am not intruding?"

Dorian freezes, then peers over the top of his book at Mother Giselle standing just outside his alcove. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I came to apologize," she says. "The words I spoke the other day, they were inappropriate and... unfair, to both you and the Inquisitor. You must understand, I only wanted to do what was best-"

"I'm well aware."

"But even I have things to learn," she continues, now smiling kindly. "My best intentions should not supersede something that is good, that heals. I wish you and the Inquisitor well."

Stubble

Maxwell loves quietly and with all of his heart. 

Once, after Adamant, he loved with teeth and blood and bruises, terrified and relieved that they survived the Fade, and Dorian gave back eagerly. This he knew.

But once in a blue moon, Maxwell comes to him and asks him to stay. Clothes slide to the floor as they stumble to bed and he whispers Dorian's name all night, holds tight with a gasp when pressed into the mattress, and comes with a sigh. Come morning, he wakes Dorian with kisses, nuzzles him and laughs when compared to a stubbly cat.

Welcome Home

He comes to Ostwick unnoticed, three guards trailing him from a distance. Then he announces his return at Bann Trevelyan's estate and pandemonium ensues. The Free Marches embraces Maxwell with parades, parties, and adoration, pulling him in every direction. He reunites with his family, is welcomed back with open arms. 

But he doesn't feel like he's home.

Evelyn, his sister, finds him on the balcony one night. "You miss him."

"He has an empire to upend," is all he says.

Weeks later, someone stands at the gates, asking for the Inquisitor.

"Miss me?" Dorian says.

Maxwell kisses him. "Welcome home."


End file.
